Hill Heat

On Wednesday, September 5, 2007 the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment of the Committee on Science and Technology will hold a hearing to receive testimony on the use of coal to produce liquid fuel, the status of coal-to-liquid (CTL) technologies and what additional research, development and demonstration programs should be undertaken at the Department of Energy or other agencies to better understand the benefits and barriers to converting coal into transportation fuels.

The Subcommittee will hear testimony from six witnesses who will speak to a range of policies that warrant consideration before moving forward with the advancement of the production of synthetic transportation fuels from coal. Policies for consideration include carbon dioxide management, infrastructure improvements, water usage, energy security, energy balance of CTL technologies (energy used and produced), exhaust emissions, options for using coal with organically derived feedstocks to produce liquid fuels, coal production requirements, potential outcomes for consumers, and the appropriate level of federal investment in CTL technologies. They also will discuss the technical and economical challenges with meeting any desired policy objectives as well as the benefits and drawbacks of investing federal resources in CTL technologies.

Witnesses * Dr. Robert L. Freerks, Director of Product Development Rentech Corp., Denver, CO. He will speak to the state of development of CTL technologies using the Fischer-Tropsch process. He will highlight the benefits of the commercialization of the FT process and discuss some of the challenges.

• John Ward, VP, Marketing and Governmental Affairs Headwaters, Inc. South Jordan, Utah. He will discuss the growing global demand for oil and the need to explore alternative liquid fuel options using the nation’s abundant coal reserves. He will review the local and global economic benefits as well as the national security and environmental benefits.
• Dr. James Bartis, Sr. Policy Researcher RAND Corp., Arlington, VA . He will address economic and national security benefits of CTL technology as well as the technical challenges for addressing the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the CTL process. He will also provide suggestions for federal activities needed to address the uncertainties surrounding CTL technology.
• David G. Hawkins, Director, Climate Center at Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, DC. He will speak to the environmental concerns associated with the adoption of CTL technologies – in particular, the “well-to-wheel” emissions of these new fuels and the impact on global climate change. He will also address other energy strategies which still rely on coal, but help to reduce our nation’s carbon dioxide footprint at the same time.
• Dr. Richard D. Boardman, The Secure Energy Initiative Head, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID. He will discuss water resource management related to the production of liquid fuels from coal. He will also address the potential for producing liquid transportation fuels using coal with organically derived feedstocks.
• Dr. Joseph Romm, Center for Energy & Climate Solutions; Center for American Progress; former Acting Asst. Sec at Department of Energy during the Clinton Administration, Washington, DC. He will address the environmental policy considerations related to advancing CTL technology. He will focus on the role of CTL technology in a world with greenhouse gas constraints.